Any particular reason why you picked Saturday night?
We were actually stoned late Saturday night, yet managed some good customer support and bug fixing.
By "launched", I mean, pitched to HN or other places.
In journalism, it's an accepted convention that anytime the government releases a report or statement on Friday at 4-5 PM, it's something they don't want to be seen. They would do it on Saturday except they don't work on weekends.
And if you're thinking, "Well, if I were a news organization, I would investigate the hell out of anything released on a Friday and print the story on Saturday"...except, all your readers are enjoying their weekends, by SUnday they'll be hungover, and on Monday, your scoop will be somewhat stale news.
There's almost never a good reason to release on a weekend night. Even if it were the case that all HN-geek-savvy users and tech bloggers spend their Saturday night on HN, they still might not provide enough momentum to get the spotlight on Monday/Tuesday, when people are most interested in getting back onto their computers and perusing the news.
The only two reasons I can think why you would post to HN on a weekend night:
1. You're afraid of a stampede of traffic...that's fine...but you should soft-launch on the weekend ,make sure any obvious bugs are out, and then pitch it on Monday.
2. It's possible that HN submissions are so sparse that you'll have a higher chance of being on the front page than on a busy weekday...that's a valid thought, as 15 votes on a Saturday night will get you more exposure than 20 votes on a Tuesday.
It's a tricky balance...but I wouldn't, as standard practice, do big things you want media spotlight for on Saturday.